Background: The Illustrierter Beobachter was the Nazi Party's weekly illustrated newspaper. The
issues here are a sample of those published between 1934 and 1943, including two special editions
from 1939 and 1940 purporting to show that England and France were responsible for starting the
war. As time goes on, I may translate more material. For now, I summarize the contents of each issue,
and in three instances provide links to a page with some of the visual material. Another GPA page has
more IB covers with Hitler.
The Illustrierter Beobachter: 1934-1943
Issue Date: 11 August 1934
Contents: The cover shows the just deceased Reich President Hindenburg. The first
pages are photographs of him at various stages of life. That is followed by articles on
a gliding competition, a tennis match, the city of Amberg, some fiction, and a back
cover of Spaniards taking their siestas.
Issue Date: 4 July 1935
Contents: The cover shows the Emperor of Ethiopia test-firing a machine gun. The
first interior story has photos of motorized military units. This is followed by a story
of Hitler visiting those wounded at an industrial accident in Reinsdorf. In Munich,
Hitler attends the ground breaking ceremony for a new art gallery, and also the
opening of a new stretch of the Autobahn. This is followed by a photo essay of
Goebbels speaking. Other stories show a Japanese ceremony for the war dead and
sailors cleaning a cruiser.
Issue Date: 11 July 1935
Contents: The cover shows a new German two-man tank. The first interior story
shows Hitler at various public appearances. The next story shows the new tanks
shown on the cover in action. After more pictures of Hitler, a story discusses the life
of Portuguese women. Most of the rest of the issue is fiction.
Issue Date: 18 July 1935
Contents: The cover shows an army officer with SS officer Sepp Dietrich at military
maneuvers. The first interior article shows Hitler at those maneuvers. The next article
shows S.A. men in action. There is also a fiction section.
Issue Date: 20 February 1936
Contents: The cover shows Hitler with the first German medal winners at the 1936
winter Olympic Games. Most of the rest of the issue consists of Olympic coverage.
Issue Date: 5 January 1939
Contents: The cover shows Heinrich Himmler on the 10th anniversary of his
appointment as Reichführer SS. An interior article shows details of the Sachsenhausen
concentration camp.
This is a special edition titled "England's Guilt," published shortly after the outbreak
of the war. Samples of its content are available on a separate page. It also includes an
article by Goebbels titled "England's Guilt."
This was the special edition titled "France's Guilt," claiming that France was just as
guilty as England for the war. It was published in 1940. Samples of the content are
available on a separate page.
Issue Date: 21 January 1943
Contents: The battle of Stalingrad was nearly over, but the issue does not mention it.
The cover shows mountain troops in action. An interior article titled "That is
Heroism" describes how a soldier on the eastern front destroyed three Soviet tanks.
Another article discusses women support staff in the East.
[Page copyright © 1999 by Randall L. Bytwerk. No unauthorized reproduction.
My email address is available on the FAQ page.]
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ib.htm
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